The Pirate Wars

£8.99

Earle, Peter

01/04/2004
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Paperback
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ISBN: 9780413759009

About
The Pirate Wars

Paperback edition of the bestselling account of the golden age of piracy by one of the world's leading naval historians.

The Pirate Wars investigates the fascination pirates hold over the popular imagination, taking the fable of ocean-going Robin Hoods sailing under the "banner of King Death" and contrasting it with the murderous reality of robbery, torture and death, and the freedom of a short, violent life on the high seas.

Using previously undiscovered material from British Admiralty records, Peter Earle charts 250 years of piracy, from Cornwall to the Caribbean, from the sixteenth century to the hanging of the last pirate captain in Boston in 1835.

He leaves us with a fascinating account of the Golden Age of pirates, and of the men of the legitimate navies of the world charged with the task of finally bringing these cutthroats to justice.

'A thoroughly entertaining read that dispels a number of myths and spins many a good yarn' Daily Mail

'Masterful...a much needed reappraisal' The Sunday Times

'Fascinating...His scholarship is solid, and his telling of this complex story is lucid and well-paced' The Sunday Telegraph

Author(s)

Peter Earle

Peter Earle is Emeritus Reader in Economic History at the University of London. He has written widely on many subjects and his books include The Pirate Wars, The Last Fight of the Revenge, Sailors, A City Full of People, The Making of the Middle Class, The World of Defoe and Monmouth's Rebels.